The Torments of Spring
by Kikan
Summary: Mai has finally learned the truth but before the information can sink in Naru has a new case. They will be going to a house located just beyond the city limits of Nichinan Kaigan and what awaits there is a sinister spirit with a taste for blood. MaiXNaru
1. A New Case

Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt or any of it's characters.

Please R&R

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Friday, February 12

Mai was sitting by one of the office's windows looking out at the people below. They hustling and bustling about from shopping, eating, or walking with purpose to their next destination. And despite the chilly day, the sun was shining and the evergreen trees swayed slightly in the breeze. She wondered if the people below notice how good the day was? If Naru knew how beautiful today was?

She sighed contently as her thought wonder over from the scenery to her boyfriend. They had been dating for a little over a month and they took turns deciding where they should go on a date. It was his turn this time and usually when he picked some place to go it was a walk in the park. They would pick a bench under a large tree and snuggle for warmth. Often they just ended up making out but sometimes she would ask him little things like what his favorite color was or what teas he preferred. Though when she asked about his family he tended to dodge the question or change the subject.

She had picked a nice little restaurant for their last date where they served really great tea. Usually when they went to a place she picked he would as her questions about school or they kissed but recently he wanted to know more and more about her parents. At first Mai hesitated but once she got started, telling him the quirky things about her mom or the vague things about her dad became easier.

'Naru was careful when he asked about them… like he understood exactly how it felt to lose loved ones,' She thought with a sad smile, getting up away from the window. 'Maybe… I'll show him their graves when it's my turn to pick the place.'

The petite brunette walked to the kitchenette, getting the feeling that her incredibly attractive boss was about to call for tea. "Tea, Tea, what kind of tea should I make today?" She said in a sing song voice, her fingers lightly skimming over the tin canisters of tea until she reached the container marked Earl Gray. "This one looks good!"

"Mai, Tea!" she heard as she was going through the motions of preparing the tea.

After it was done she placed three cups on the tray. Stopping by Lin's office she delivered his tea and then walked to Naru's. Knocking lightly she carefully eased the door open and tapped it closed behind her with her foot. Mai placed the tray down on his desk and right as she switched the old cup for the new, he spoke.

"Would you mind staying for a bit?" He asked. The sound of his deep smooth voice made her heart pound. She looked up to see that he was facing the window, had he been enjoying the same view she had just moments before?

"Sure," she replied sitting in one of the black leather chairs with her teacup. "Is it about an up coming case? Should I call the others?"

As he spun around to face her, he looked down at the papers on his desk before his gaze met her questioning brown eyes. "No," he replied. "I have a lot of things I need to talk to you about."

The raven hair teen's face was solemn, his blue eyes full of uncertainly as if he was questioning one of his own decisions. "Naru, you can tell me anything." Mai stood and placed her cup on the tray that was still resting on the desk. Then she came up to him and hugged his shoulders. He responded by pulling her into his lap.

"I want to know Mai, will you love me no matter what happens?" He whispered in her ear, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Naru are you alright?" Mai pulled back to look into his face worried. 'He's acting so strange! Where is the over confidant, stoic, narcissist?'

"Will you or will you not?" He asked more forcefully.

"I love you more than anyone, possibly even more than my parents." Mai struggled with the last part but she knew in her heart that it was true. "No, I love you even more than that." She looked directly into his dark sapphire blue eyes.

He smiled briefly, he knew it was a hard choice. But hearing her say it was exactly what he need.

"I will start off with who I really am…" He began.

* * *

Mai wasn't sure what she should be thinking or what she was going to say. He was telling her everything. Everything. His real name being Oliver Davis, his family that lived in England, his brother… his _twin _brother and all of the things he and his brother shared but also the things that made them different.

Eugene Davis was happy most of the time and easily liked by others. He was also a psychic medium and smart like Naru… no smart like Oliver but rather than work all the time Gene, that was his nick name, wanted to enjoy himself which usually meant teasing Oliver or dragging him along to go hiking. "Get fresh air and blood running through that enormous head of yours!" Naru smiled as he quoted his brother.

Then he told her that Gene had come to Japan for a medium convention where he had met Masako. He went off a little to explain the skewed relationship between himself and the TV star but continued to when he had told Gene over the phone after the convention not to go out. The pain she could see in his deep, blue eyes made her want to cry. Gene, who loved living, was killed not long after that very phone call.

All this time he had been carrying such a burden and she had no idea. Did she have the right to tell him she was upset for being used if the reason he came up with Shibuya Psychic Research was to find his brother's body? The answer was no, she did not.

After he was done the couple fell into silence as they sat there in each others arms.

"Mai," Naru broke the silence first, his voice was low and echoed the anguish he had in his heart. "I apologize for lying to you, I never expected to – "

"Fall in love with me?" She gave him a small smile that he returned. It made her think back to when they had first met how guarded he had been but now he was so relaxed with her.

"Yes," he replied his voice was smooth and calm. "Did I make you angry?"

She knew it was better to be understanding rather for him than to be upset at him but both were there. Why couldn't he have trusted her enough to tell her sooner? But how long did it take her to actually say anything about her parents? "A little but you told me and that's what matters."

Or at least that's what she wanted to say but the phone rang and cut her off. "You should get that." Was what she actually did say. Mai got off his lap and went over to her cold cup of tea.

"Shibuya Psychic Research." Naru said in a very business type tone. "This him speaking."

Mai rolled her eyes as she sipped her tea. 'There's always a skeptic.'

Suddenly his eyebrows furrowed and he frowned. "Explain." Naru sat forward at his desk and grabbed a pen. Her boss began writing rapidly, filling the stray piece of paper with information that the woman was giving him about the new case. After a minute he stopped writing and glanced at Mai before speaking into the phone again. "Mrs. Himura, please prepare two rooms for us to stay in and one where we can set up our equipment. We will be arriving tomorrow at noon. Good day."

'What are we going to be dealing with?' came through to the top of her list of questions that had been growing since they had ended their conversation. After he hung up the phone he gave the paper to Mai. "You can read over it if you want but please give it to Lin and then call the others. Let them know that this could be potentially dangerous."

"I thought all of out cases were potentially dangerous." She said quietly to herself, walking out of his office and to Lin's office door.

* * *

Lin had been tweaking the personal settings on his new laptop. He had just spent the past few hours transferring all of the data from his old computer to his new. The letters on the old keyboard were worn down to the point were you couldn't even tell what any on the letters were. That was when he decided to would be a good time to purchase the new model he saw in a catalog.

He had heard Mai's distinct knocked on his door. "Come in."

The petite brunette was holding what appeared to be a note in her hand, the look on her face said that she already read it. "Here, it's a new case. Naru said that we have to pack today and be there by tomorrow afternoon." She informed him as she handed him the note.

He waited for her to leave but she stood where she was clearly unable to figure out whether or not she was going say what was troubling her. "Can I help you with anything Mai?" The tall, handsome Chinese man asked patiently. The past few months had been clear of any trouble that Naru loved to stir up and he knew that was mostly because of Mai. Lin was truly happy for the couple as well because he couldn't think of anyone he had seen happier then the two of them when they were together.

"You knew about Naru being Oliver Davis?" It wasn't a question really and he knew that it was bound to happen (him telling her the truth) but it still surprised him.

"Yes, I knew." He kept his features masked only by habit whenever this topic came up because he knew everything she was going to ask.

"And about Gene?" She asked cautiously.

"For years." He nodded. Gene was equally as troublesome as Noll could be at times but he was a lot more cheerful and light hearted. When Gene died he felt as though he had lost a brother.

As if she could read his thoughts she put a tentative hand on his shoulder. "I wish I could have met them together." She whispered sadly. Mai placed the paper on his desk and quietly left, closing the door behind her.

The tall Chinese man sighed and turned to the note. There wasn't much written on it but it was clear the Naru stuck to the facts.

_Mrs. Himora Lives: just outside limits of Nichinan Kaigan city _

_Reasons for the request: Knocking, footsteps, feeling of being watch, power goes out everyday at sundown, hearing a strange voice, strange shadows, threatening messages appearing on the walls (intelligent haunting?) _

_**All of the previous owners have been either seriously injured or died on the property**._

Lin could see why Naru had immediately chosen to respond, if there were people who's lives needed them there was no turning it away. He pulled up a new word document and began recording the information before putting his dazzling researching abilities to work.

* * *

A/N: Hello, thank you for reading!:D

While this chapter is short I can assure you that the following chapters will be longer than the last one. For those of you who have read my previous story I added the epilogue to the beginning as a sort of a recap/ intro for people who haven't read Snowy Nights. So please review and tell me what you think! ^^


	2. Mr Himura

Hello everyone! I apologize for not updateing in 6 months! i feel so bad about this X can you forgive me? life has been a little tough on this poor writer. Anyway i hope you enjoy this chapter.

Please R&R!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt or it's characters!

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Saturday, February 13

The rays of light drifted through the widows of the train, landing warmly on the passengers as they watched the scenery pass by. These passengers would include our lovely group of SPR members. Monk, Ayako, John, Mai, Masako, Lin and Naru were all sharing a compartment on the train ride to Nichinan Kaigan city. From there they would be renting a van to drive the rest of the way to Mrs. Himora's home.

Mai was sitting with Naru, using his shoulder as a pillow while she tried sketching Monk who had fallen asleep across from them. She was drawing for her art class; the subject for this assignment was people. She smiled slightly as she drew the curve of Monks shoulders, the older man had his head leaning against the window with his mouth wide open. Ayako, who was sitting next to him, was holding his hand talking with Masako about what the latest fashion trends were around the world. They had been a couple just as long as she and Naru were and together they were much calmer then in the past when they argued none stop. Next to the medium was John, he was reading an English book with a playing card on the front but she couldn't quite read the title of. "Hey Naru?" she whispered.

"Yes Mai?" He replied with nonchalantly as he looked up form reading a book of his own. She had seen him with it the other day Weird Virginia was the title. It made her stop for a moment, she hadn't bothered before asking him what is about or why had put a black cover over it either…

"What is that about?" she asked curiously, trying to see if she could read some of it but he closed it, keeping his index finger in the folds of the pages to keep his page.

"Virginian legends, folklores and myths." Naru replied quietly as not to draw attention to the fact that he was reading an English book. 'It's probably why he put the cover on it' she concluded. 'Though he has been reading a lot of those books recently…'

"Where is Virginia?" she asked, something about it was familiar but she couldn't place it.

"I distinctly remember you had already been over this subject in school. Did you already forget? Dummy." He scoffed at her and reopened his book to continue reading.

She ignored his comment and decided to change the subject. "What's John reading?"

"You could ask him." He replied curtly.

"But I asked you?"

Naru quickly glanced toward the priest and then back to her. "It's called I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak, a work of fiction." He told her with a sigh as he looked back to his book.

Mai rolled her eyes and sat up to look out the window. In the distance she could see the tall buildings of Nichinan Kaigan. "Naru! Look, we're almost to the city!" She exclaimed. The others turned from what they were doing to look out the window, Bou-san even woke up.

* * *

The house was far away from the city and very secluded with a small forest of trees surrounding it. As the group rode up, Mai could begin to see the details of the house. It was and old house that was built like a traditional Japanese home with modern accommodations, the front yard was also fenced off with a black rode iron fence that was barely keeping the trees at bay. The rest of the yard was nice and grass with a small flower garden near the steps leading up to the door. She could also hear the call of seagulls and the sound of waves crashing against the cliff in which the house was built near.

They parked the van outside the fence and began to pile out. Naru, Lin, Mai, and Masako were the first to get out and move toward the entrance of the gate. The owner had given them the as the group entered the yard Mai froze.

She reached out quickly to stop Masako, who was behind her, from moving beyond where she was standing. The air around her was becoming thick with the smell of fear and blood. The land it's self seemed to shout "GET AWAY! You are not welcome!"

"Mai, what is it?" the medium asked putting her hand on Mai's shoulder. In that instant Masako was gripping her shoulder tightly as the rest of her body became tense. Both girls stepped back immediately. "That was dreadful."

"Girls what's up? You both look pale." Monk had been in a separate car that had just driven up. His inquiry, though, had drawn the attention of the others.

"Mai?" Naru walked over to his girlfriend (kaiiiii! Don't you love reading that? ^^).

"I think it'll pass but there are most certainly spirits here. And they're trapped." She replied looking past him to the house. For a moment she thought she saw a man standing in the open doorway but she blinked and he was gone. In his place was a woman, who waved and began coming in their direction. "That must be Mrs. Himura."

Naru held out his hand for her to hold as they all turned and gather before the gate. John had done the same for Masako who was happy for the assistance.

They watched as the thin woman bowed and introduced her self. Her hair was a striking black color and was loosely pulled back into a ponytail that draped over her shoulder. She was wearing a beautiful pale blue dress that complimented her pale skin yet she look worn down with worry. "Hello, you all must be from Shibuya Psychic Research I presume?" After a quick nod of confirmation from Naru she continued. "I am Kaoru Himura and this is my home, you are welcome here as long as you help us." She gestured toward the house and then for them to follow her.

They entered silently, something felt wrong about speaking. Like everything would fall down or break, then tension was there, making it hard to breath. Mai had let go of her boss's hand to linger behind and look around more. She was looking at a picture of Mrs. Himura and a man, who must be her husband, sitting together under a sakura tree smiling. The photograph itself was in black and white but she could tell that both of them were strong and healthy happy people.

"Do you like this picture Miss?" a kind voice came from behind her.

She immediately straightened up and turned around. Before her was the same man in the photo but, while his smile stayed the same, he was clearly not well. He was leaning on crutches because his left leg was broken and he had several bandages covering his head and arms. His bright orange-ish red hair was tied back sloppily and he had a very pronounced X – shaped scare on his left cheek.

"Um… err… yes! I do like it" she stammered trying not to stare at his wounds.

"I'm happy that you do because that photo makes this one smile too!" he replied. "Are you here with the people my wife brought?"

"Yes! My name is Mai Taniyama. I'm pleased to meet you Mr. Himura." Mai bowed respectfully.

"Thank you, Ms. Taniyama." He bowed in return before gesturing in the direction in which the rest of the group went. "You should be with them, should you not?"

"Yes, I should but I wanted to look around a bit…" she paused and then continued. "How did you get those… wounds?"

The smile on Mr. Himura's face seemed to fall a bit and his appearance became tired. "I think it would be better if you caught up with your friends now Ms. Taniyama." He said before turning away. "We will certainly talk again, I'm sure."

Mai watched as he walked away down one of the hallways before she turned to go back to the others. She found them toward the back of the home talking with Mrs. Himura. Naru eyes immediately met her when she quietly stepped into the room for a split second and then back to their client. John, who was closest to the door, turned to her arrival and beckoned her over. "Where have you been Mai?" he whispered.

"I was looking around," she whispered back, then glancing at Mrs. Himura and added. "I ran into her husband."

Naru was wrapping up their conversation with the client. "We'll be needing to set up our supplies, if you don't mind, it would be better that you stay out of our way why we do so."

After she left Naru turned to everyone else. "Monk, John, Lin, Mai and I will be retrieving and setting up the equipment. Ms. Matsuzaki and Ms. Hara – I want you to get a feel for the grounds and the house. The sun will be setting in about an hour and half so start out side and then come back to the house before it gets dark. Take note of any places that you sense something. Let's begin."

* * *

Everyone filed out of the room and split up once they were outside. Naru choose that moment to take Mai's hand and lead her around to a different side of the house. She could smell the ocean breeze and they could both see the edge of the cliff not far behind the back of the house with the ocean crashing below.

The black haired teen* watched his assistant take in the view for a moment because he wanted time to take her in as well. The wind blew her soft brown hair and the sun light hit her light skin just right. He wanted to kiss her right there but reminded himself that he needed to know what ever she saw while he was 'looking around.' That was when Mai leaned forward and rested herself against his chest.

"This isn't the time for that; I want to know what… Mai?" He looked down at her, taking in her ridged figure. "Mai, what is it? What do you see? He put one hand on her shoulder and used the other to make her look up at him. Her eyes moving and looking around her under closed lids. She was seeing something else entirely…. A dream perhaps or even a premonition.

He knew better than to try to wake her and risk the loss of any information related to the case. Instead he pulled her close to his chest to protect her from the cool spring wind and stared out over ocean. Waiting and hoping that none of the others would come around the corner and see them…

* * *

_Mai felt a strong breeze blowing at her and rain pouring down, completely drenching her. A storm. _

"_Mai." A distant voice called._

"_I know… Gene, give me a minute." She replied forcing her eyes open. The sky was filled with dark storm clouds the distant sound of thunder father off the coast. _

_The coast. That's where she was, sitting up she looked over her shoulder. The house was there too, it looked the same as it did now but not as tortured._

"_So the idiot scientist told you. I'm glad." Naru's twin held out his hand to help her up. "But now I'm wondering, when are you going to tell him the truth?" _

_Once on her feet, Mai took the chance to really look at him. She hadn't noticed before now how different Gene was from Naru. It wasn't that she didn't notice that 'dream Naru' was different from the actual one. She had just thought that the 'dream Naru' was what she wanted Naru, himself, to be – a projection of her mind._

_Gene was physically different from Naru, along with his personality he seem up beat and was comfortable moving around, unlike how Naru was purposeful in his movements. By the way he looked and from what she could recall from past dreams, Gene was also physically fit as well with the physic of a tennis player or possibly a runner. His face was a bit fuller and he also had hints of laugh lines around his mouth. 'He would have grown to be such a great person if he hadn't died..' She thought._

"_Yes, eventually I suppose but we just started this case." She replied. "Isn't tht why I'm here?"_

_Gene nodded and led her a little ways away closer to the seaside cliff. Which is were the scene seemed to set itself into play. Mai could see a couple not far from where she was standing, and while howling wind made it impossible to hear it was clear that something was wrong. _

_The man looked extremely worried and was trying to say something to the woman but she ignored him as she spun in circles like a small child. Her hair was drenched and she wore thin nightgown that, at this point, was covered in mud. The thing that struck her the most was that the woman's eyes weren't open. "Is she awake?" _

_Mai watched as this woman came closer and closer to the edge and so did the man. His eye's were wide and he was franticly trying to grab her hand and pull her away. _

"_Stop her! She'll fall off the edge!" Mai shouted, running to them, wanting to stop her from falling to her death despite knowing that it was a dream and there was nothing she could really do. Right as she reached them the man finally got a good gripe on the woman's arm and pulled her away from the cliff edge and to the house. _

_At this motion, the woman woke and seemed startled. "Kazuma? Kazuma? What going on?" _

_The man pulled her into an embrace, kissing her forehead and holding her to hi as he mouthed his thanks to what ever god saved her. _

* * *

"I don't feel well." Masako told the miko walking beside her.

"We just got here but you don't usually complain so I guess we can head back know but you are going to be the one to explain this to Naru." Ayako replied unenthusiastically.

"…" Masako blinked and turned back to the house. It was hard to see it, there was a thick fog in the way that made her sick to her stomach with fear. The air was cold and she could hear moans of pain from almost every direction.

"What did I offend your – ? Hey, your face is white as a sheet." Ayako noted with surprise but it soon turned into concern. She put a firm arm around the younger girl's shoulders. "Don't pass out."

"I'm not going to." The doll like girl replied stubbornly but she felt weak in the knees and her vision was getting worse. The moaning around her was getting worse as the sunset and within those cries of pain she could hear it.

Over the sound of the miko chanting softly next to her.

It was getting louder and louder.

"get out."

"Get Out!"

"GET OUT!"

* * *

Thank you for reading! I hoping to do more writing soon but i can't be sure (so sorry! ). Spring break should be coming up and there are alway the weekends if i don't have work (i have a job now! yay!) or school to deal with. Btw, do any of you know who Mr. Himura is? I'm super excited to hear what you all think of this so please Review!


	3. Tea with a Ghost

Sorry for not updating sooner! I've been very very busy :/

Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt or any of it's characters.

Please R&R

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Saturday, February 13 (cont.)

Naru felt his legs begin to lose circulation due to his standing there for far longer than he had anticipated, but he shifted his weight and told himself to stop complaining. He had his arms holding Mai against his chest so that she'd stay standing and he'd occasionally move her hair away from her face when the wind blew it askew. It was almost strange how connected he felt to her… it was a feeling he hadn't had since Gene was around. Mai was different from his brother though, he felt as if he loved her more but he also knew that it was different sort of love. '…Valentine's Day is tomorrow.' He thought, the information came to his mind out of no where, catching completely off guard. 'Shit! What am I supposed to do?'

As he was pondering these thoughts a large gust of wind came and in the instant the wind hit their bodies something else strange happened that caught him off guard (yet again). It was as if Mai had just taken a dip in the ocean, her entire body drenched with water. Her hair and her clothes became matted against her body with the weight of the water and the ground beneath her feet turned into mud as if it had been raining for days just in the one spot.

"Mai?" his eyes widened in surprise as the brunette began to stir. Not wanting to get his shirt soaked, he put a little distance between himself and his favorite assistant. Seeing her soaked though brought back memories from the pointless case Ms. Hara had forced him to take. Mai was paired up with Monk at the time and they both got drenched with water, the memory made him smile, slightly. Of course there was the fact that Mai just so happened to choose the wrong day to wear a colorfully printed bra.

Mai opened her beautiful brown eyes and blinked before she looked up at him. "Naru…"

"Yes?" He replied calmly as if every girl he meets randomly gets drenched head to toe in what smelled like rain water. In truth he was trying very hard not to notice the frilly pink and red hearts decorating her bra.

"It's really cold." She whined crossing her arms tightly across her chest as another gust of wind hit them, she began to shiver slightly.

"That's because you're soaked with water dummy." He smirked, inwardly resisting the urge to find out if she was wearing matching under garments.

"You're a jerk." Her brown eyes met his with scorn but he could tell she really didn't mean it.

"No, I'm just smarter than you are. Here." Naru took off his blazer and put it around her shoulders, there was no need to share those frilly hearts with anyone else. "Now let's go inside, you need a change of clothes and we need to know what you saw as well."

* * *

During their short absence the guys had placed all of their suitcases in the appropriate rooms. Mai's were by the windows that looked out over the cliff. At the moment the sun was beginning to set and the sky was turning into beautiful shades of pink and orange. Wishing she could stay longer and watch the sun set she changed quickly into a pretty white flower patterned sun dress, grabbed a light blue sweater and ran a brush through her tangled wet hair before returning to the base room.

Everything seemed to be in place, which made her feel bad because she didn't help as she usually did. The monitors had been set up along the wall opposite of the windows and Lin's usual set up was next to them. The furniture that had been in the room had been moved around to fit their purposes with the couch up against the wall with the windows and a few chairs around a small table in a corner of the room. There weren't any pictures on the walls or anything that would indicate the previous use of this room, the only thing that stood out to her was the fact that the room hadn't been painted all the way and that it was very dusty.

Monk and John weren't there so she had to assume that they had been sent them off some where to collect information. Naru, however, was already by Lin's side looking over the older man's shoulder as he typed away on his lap top and periodically pointed out things that he deemed important. Naru had notice that she had entered the room, only pausing in his work to watch her as she studied the room. 'Cute,' he thought to himself as he studied her dress before turning back to the screen. 'Even better if she brought some tea with her…'

"If you will, Mai, tea." He said keeping his eyes on what Lin was researching, something about police involvement on the property…

'Maybe it's an addiction of some sort' she thought to herself but she smiled. 'Can some one really be addicted to tea? Well, seeing how this is Naru, anything is possible.' She tucked some hair behind her ear before walking right out the door again. "Sure thing boss!" she said before closing the door behind her.

* * *

It took her a bit to actually find the kitchen because she hadn't been with the group when the tour was given. It was simple and old fashion with out dated appliances and oddly very dusty, like it wasn't used much. 'Maybe Mrs. Himura doesn't cook often…' Mai thought absently looking through the cabinets until she found a tea pot and some cups, they too were oddly dusty. The tea she had brought her self because there was that one case where their clients were big on coffee and didn't drink tea and Naru… well he didn't handle the withdrawal too well.

While waiting for the water to boil, Mai dusted off a chair and sat down at a small table looking around the kitchen, soon spotting a calendar nailed to the wall on the other side of the room. She got up and walked over to it. The calendar's theme was old historical sites in Japan and the picture that was showing was of Kyoto, for the month of November. 'November? That odd and it's from 3 years ago as well...' Her brows furrowed in confusion.

Clack…thud…drag…clack…thud…drag – Mai froze when she heard the noise come from behind her. "Wh-who's there?" she squeaked, slightly turning her head, she felt cold air on the back of her neck.

"It's just me Miss Mai, sorry if I scared you." Mr. Himura apologized.

Mai breathed a sigh of relief and turned to face the injured man. "Hey Mr. Himura, how are you? I was making tea, would you like some?" she asked pulling out a chair for him to sit.

"Thank you, that would be nice." He replied sitting down he made little noise while rearranging his crutches. Mai busied her self with preparing the tea and decided now would be a good time to ask him about the house but he beat her to the questioning first. He asked her about school and her friends but never pushed for any details.

When the conversation came to recent events he didn't seem to know what she was talking about so she decided to ask about his wife. "When did you and Mrs. Himura meet?"

"Kaoru and I met when she was running a dojo in Tokyo, she was very spirited. Yes… very spirited indeed, you remind me of her in a way." He sighed. "I miss her so much…" As he was talking he had been looking out the dusty window. Now he was looking her straight in the eye as if searching for something, his sad eyes diving into her as if he were reading her soul. After what seemed like a life time he must have found what he was looking for because he leaned forward in his chair with a satisfied look on his face. "Tell Kaoru, I'll be waiting for her and that we'll be together again."

"What do you mean Mr.- " Mai began to ask, baffled.

"Mai, it doesn't take that long to make tea. What have you been doing?" Naru said as he walked into the room with Lin behind him.

She glanced at him and then at the tea that was still on the stove. "Sorry, I was talking with – " she turned back to Mr. Himura, who disappeared into no where. "But he was just?"

"Who were you talking to?" Naru gave her a slightly quizzical look.

It was then that something clicked in her mind. The thick layer of dust all over the house, the calendar from three years ago, and the chill she felt when Mr. Himura had come into the room. In fact the first time she met him she hadn't even heard him walk up behind her until he had said something. She looked back at Naru and Lin. "A ghost… I was talking with a ghost." She replied softly.

* * *

Monk glanced over his shoulder at the house as they walked in the direction in which they assumed Masako and Ayako had. "Man, does this place creep you out or what?"

"I'll have to admit, something about it is very strange." John replied, glad that he had brought a flashlight with him, the sun was setting fast and being on a haunted property at night wasn't the safest of ideas when you didn't know what was out there. "What do you think they could be doing that would take them so long?" he asked looking around. The property was big but no matter where you stood you could see the fence that surrounded it on all sides but the girls were no where in sight.

"I wouldn't have a clue," Monk replied casually but from his expression it was easy to tell that he was worried about Ayako. "Maybe they got lost."

John turned on his flash light and began systematically scanning the area. He couldn't help but periodically checking the woods, maybe they had found a break in the fence. If it was him he would have waited till morning to check it out, the trees were tall, dark, and close together making it impossible to see into. "I think we'll have a better chance of finding them if we called out for them." He said to Monk who nodded in agreement.

"Ayako! Masako! "

"Ayako!"

"Where are you two?"

"Takigawa!" a strained voice called out.

"Ayako? Where are you?" Monk called back, straining to hear where her voice was coming from. There was a rustling in the trees. John immediately flashed his torch over the spot waiting for a few suspenseful seconds before something emerged. Ayako fell out of the brush with Masako on her back. Both men rushed over to help them.

"What happened to you guys?" The worry was evident in his voice as he helped Ayako into a sitting position. Her black tee was clinging to her back from sweat and the knees of her jeans had dirt and grass stains. Masako didn't look much better. Parts of her kimono were torn and smudged with dirt. Her face seemed paler than it was usually and made her appear ghostly in the dark. Both of them were breathing hard as if they had been running.

"It's a lot to explain." Ayako replied tucking a strand of loose red hair behind her ear as she looked up at Hosho. "We need to get some where safer than here."

"Let's get back to base first. I think it'd be safer there." John helped Masako to her feet and lifted her arm across his thin shoulders. Monk nodded in agreement as he lifted his girlfriend to her feet. The group made quickly made their way back to the house.

* * *

It was not long before everyone was finally together in the base. Naru had to have everyone calm down and seated before he had any of them speak. Lin set up his laptop so that he was ready to type the relevant events as they were told. Naru had Mai make tea as Ayako and Masako began their story of what happened.

"We were going to walk around the perimeter near the woods," Ayako began. "When… Masako?"

"I heard many voices. Some were frightened but one… One was…" The medium seemed at a lose for words.

"Was what?" Naru asked.

"Angry, hateful, murderous. He doesn't want us here." She replied fear hanging around the edges of her voice. "The ground here I soaked with so much blood… I don't think I'll be able to continue with this case." Her blue eyes reflected regret but it was clear the fear for her own safety out weighed feeling bad about giving up.

"No one is condemning you for leaving; however, we need to know how you ended up in the woods and why." His eyes were cold and his tone was serious, he could care less about her leaving, it wasn't going to hinder the investigation.

"I felt someone else take over, I had no control over where I went but I could feel this person's fear. I could hear yelling too. _"Get out! Get out! I will KILL who ever trespasses!" _So I ran to where it seemed the safest." She glanced up at the door, where Mai had just entered, after she set down the try Masako continued. "The forest isn't part of the property but the spirit didn't seem to care until I was at least five meters in when the trees started to become too thick to pass through."

"I had followed her all the way there. I must say for wearing a kimono you run pretty fast." The older woman commented taking a cup off the tea tray. "However when I found her she had collapsed on the ground. She wouldn't move and she kept telling me to get away from her. Pleading for me not to kill her, at that point I figured she had to be possessed so I began to chant.

"That was when I heard John and Hosho calling for us and Masako returned to her self, right?" she glanced at the China doll like teen.

"That is correct." She nodded. "The spirit fled, I believe it is still on these grounds though. Its last moments were too violent for it to move on."

"I understand. Thank you for what you have done thus far Ms. Hara, you are free to leave in the morning. Ms. Matsuzaki I need you to make charms for the bedrooms and the base so that we can all rest without the risk of being attacked or possessed during the night." Naru looked directly at Mai when spoke the words 'attacked' and 'possessed' as if she was the only one the ghosts were most likely to act upon.

In retrospect, he is probably right.

* * *

Thank you sooo much for your patience with my poor updating! and for staying with me despite that :D so I will be doing my best, now that it is summer (which is AWESOME! XD ). to update chapters more frequently.

Thank you again! PLEASE R&R!


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